Crackle Glass

These articles are brought to you by the Virtual Glass Museum and written by

Stan & Arlene Weitman, authors of three books on Crackle Glass

Introducing Crackle Glass

Help in Valuing Crackle Glass

Overshot Glass

Vaseline Crackle Glass

1: Introducing Crackle Glass

by Stan & Arlene Weitman

GLASS is the third most popular collectible in the world, preceded only by
coins and stamps. We feel CRACKLE GLASS is the most beautiful. Have you
ever seen CRACKLE GLASS in a window when the sun reflects off the glass? A
window decorated with different colored crackle is truly breathtaking.

Crackle Glass is known by other names, such as CRAQUELLE GLASS, ICE GLASS, OVERSHOT GLASS.

It was the Venetian Glass Makers of the 16th Century, who invented this marvelous process. The glass was immersed in cold water while it was molten hot, thereby cracking the glass. The glass was then reheated and either mold or hand blown into the shape the glass blower desired.
The reheating of the glass sealed the cracks. If you run your hands
over CRACKLE GLASS, you can feel the cracks, but the inside is smooth
to touch.

Glass makers from the 19th Century and even today are still using
the same methods.

We will never forget the day my wife and I discovered CRACKLE GLASS. One
day about five years ago, during the month of August, we were in a flea
market in Commack, Long Island. We were browsing the different dealers, and
I heard a vendor ask a customer, "Would you give me three dollars for this
amber cruet?" The woman answered, "No". I immediately stepped forward and
said that I would take the cruet for three dollars.

That was it. We were
hooked, and five years later, we have a collection of
around four-hundred pieces. We go to tag sales, garage sales, flea markets,
auctions, advertise in the papers, pamphlets, circulars, business cards, any
way to obtain CRACKLE GLASS.

In our books on Crackle Glass, we show the different shapes, sizes,
colors of the cruets, miniature vases, miniature pitchers, large vases,
large pitchers, decanters and many other beautiful items. We also
include a price guide to show the novice collector or the advanced collector
a range of prices in order to assist in the purchasing of CRACKLE GLASS.

Make sure you check the pieces you are about to buy, to see that they are in good condition; that
they are not chipped or CRACKED (even though it is called CRACKLE GLASS).
We have made the mistake many times in purchasing a piece of glass, being
over-zealous, not carefully checking the piece, and thinking we have a great
buy, only to go home and see the piece is defective.

Any defects will
automatically devalue the piece. We suggest you hold up a piece to the
light and turn it slowly in all directions to see if there are any
imperfections. Make sure your piece is properly wrapped to protect it until
you get home.

In closing, please be aware that there is new CRACKLE GLASS being produced
today out of Taiwan and China. Fenton Glass Company and Blenko Glass
Company are also producing New CRACKLE GLASS today. By using our book as your guide, you will be able to distinguish the new from the old. The older
pieces will show more wear marks on the bottom and inside where a stopper
may have been. (A cruet or decanter with a stopper or top to it is worth
more than a piece without it) We have noticed that the shapes are more
imperfect in the older pieces. You may see that they may lean to one side
or you may feel bumps or variations in the glass that you cannot see. The
fewer cracks or "crackles" a piece has the cheaper the piece of crackle should be.

Article 2: Help in Valuing Crackle Glass

by Stan & Arlene Weitman

Crackle Glass
has become highly collectible. It is finally holding its own in the world
of antiques and collectibles. Up until last year, when our book,
"Crackle Glass Identification and Value Guide" was published, crackle glass was not taken very seriously by many dealers and collectors, who passed over it because it was hardly known.

Not anymore, IT'S HOT. Prices have soared, and pieces that were so easy
to find are just not there anymore. People are holding on to crackle glass.
Dealers are putting high prices on crackle glass, and collectors are more
than willing to pay the prices.

When we go into antique shops, the dealers
often tell us that crackle glass is their hottest item, and it's here
today, gone tomorrow..

Being glass collectors, we became hooked on crackle glass when we saw it
shimmering in the sun. We think it is absolutely beautiful. You would too
if you saw how the light reflects and refracts off the cracks. The glass
looks alive.

A window decorated with different colored crackle glass is
truly breathtaking.
It never fails to amaze us how quickly people become as hooked as we are
when they see our display at antique and collectible shows.

We have now set up the first crackle glass club in the United States.
We have members from all over the country. Our members buy, sell and trade
crackle glass between each other. They also compare prices from one area of
the country to the other. We also send out a newsletter three times a year.

From the late 1920's to early 1960's crackle glass was made in many vibrant
colors, by many different companies in West Virginia, in many other states,
and even abroad. It was also made in the 1880's. We are constantly
asked how can you distinguish the old from the new. Just as with any other
collectible, it is very important for a collector to research as thoroughly
as possible the subject matter. We would suggest that by studying our book,
and visiting reputable antique shops, to obtain hands-on experience, you
will learn to distinguish the old from the new.

We can tell you that the
styles, color and feel of the new crackle being made today, is different
from the crackle being made in the past. Much of the new crackle is being
imported from China, Taiwan, the Phillippines and Mexico. Most of the old
crackle has a nice ring to it, as the glass was of better quality. The
exception to this is the good quality crackle glass that is still being made today by the
Blenko Glass Company of West Virginia. For years, Blenko continued to
make crackle, but only specific pieces. Today, they have extended their crackle
line.

Article 3: Overshot Glass

by Stan & Arlene Weitman

Overshot Glass is the name used in the USA for crackle glassware that was made from about 1870 up to the early turn of the
century.
Like crackle glass, it originated as a way of hiding defects in the surface
of glass.
There was an abundance of items produced, such as vases, pitchers, baskets,
ladles, dishes, etc.

Like crackle glass, there were several methods of making
overshot. The first way was that the gather of hot glass was rolled over a
steel plate
that was covered with thousands of very small pieces of glass. They adhered
to the
glass. They were very sharp, sharp enough that they could cut hands at the
slightest
touch. The gather was then returned to the ovens and reheated, melting the small
pieces of glass, this melting
causing them to lose their sharpness. The gather of glass was then
reheated and
then blown into a desired shape. This produced a wide thickness between the
pieces of glass. The thickness varied from one piece to the other, depending how
big the piece was made. The surface of this glass was usually smooth.

The second
process involved the glass being blown into the original form first, and
then rolled
into glass fragments. The surface of these items were sharp to the touch with no
avenues between the fragments.

DO NO CONFUSE OVERSHOT GLASS OR
ANY TYPE OF CRACKLE GLASS WITH THE TREE OF LIFE PATTERN.
THIS PATTERN WAS ALWAYS PRESSED INTO A MOLD.

If you look very
carefully at some overshot glass items, you can see the glass is crackled
underneath the
small pieces of glass. Some of the companies that produced overshot glass
are: The
Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, Hobbs, Brockunier & Company, Falcon
Glass Works, as well as abroad, such as France, England and Bohemian factories.

Most early pieces of overshot glass were clear, the colored pieces coming a
little
later on. Colored overshot was produced by dipping the gather of clear glass
into a
pot of colored glass. American overshot glass was never made with the
blending of
colors such as amberina. The blending of colors was produced by England. All of
the colored overshot glass (not blending of colors) was done by Czechoslovakia.

Overshot glass was never pressed into a mold, although some were mold blown.
Pieces made in Czechoslovakia are often acid etched CZECHOSLOVAKIA.

The price of overshot
glass is
very expensive compared to regular crackle glass. Even though there was an
abundance of overshot glass made, it is very hard to come by, much is not seen.

The research for the overshot article was taken from "The Collector's
Encyclopedia
of American Art Glass" by John A. Shuman, III, an article on "The Glass Industry
In Sandwich" by Barlow & Kasiser, "The Pittsburgh Glass Journal", Vol. 1, No. 7
Insert by Thomas Crawford, "19th Century Glass" by Thomas Nelson, 1959.

Article 4: Uranium Crackle Glass

by Stan & Arlene Weitman

For many years before writing our first book, we had no idea
that we had any uranium or vaseline crackle glass, or even what vaseline glass was.

One day, we purchased a piece of regular glass that we were told was
vaseline glass. We immediately went to our local book store and
purchased a book on vaseline glass. ("Yellow-Green Vaseline" by Jay L.
Glickman). The book taught us the only way to find out if you have true
vaseline glass is by subjecting the piece to a black light. Vaseline
glass will fluoresce. This is because vaseline glass contains uranium
oxide.

"The ultraviolet is the key factor in the identification of
vaseline glass. This light, often called 'black light' emits high
energy emissions of electrons. In the case of vaseline glass, which
usually contains about two percent uranium oxide, the light's strong
flow of electrons has an unsettling effect on the relatively unstable
uranium atom. The electrons circling the nucleus of the atom are pulled
out of the orbit towards the ultraviolet light and back to the nucleus
again. Resulting energy is in the form of yellow-green light
characteristic of uranium."

Having a black light on hand, one day we decided to scan our crackle
glass collection. To our surprise, many pieces fluoresced, even pieces
that did not look green glowed. There are other types of glass that
will glow: Burmese and custard glass, the latter two also containing
uranium oxide.
If you have two pieces of crackle glass that are similarly the same, but
one is vaseline glass, the price of that piece should be valued much
higher (40-50 percent higher).

When vaseline glass was invented it was
not called vaseline glass. It was called "Uranium glass" or "Canary
glass". In the 1950's the antique dealers renamed it because it had the
same color as vaseline petroleum jelly.

Back in the late 1880's there was an abundance of vaseline glass
produced by many companies. (Fenton, McKee, New England Glass Company,
Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, Duncan & Sons, Hobbs, Bruckonier)
There is a lot of vaseline glass on the shelves, tables of dealers that
are not marked vaseline glass because a lot of dealers and collectors
are not familiar with this glass.

So, if you get yourself a black
light, go to the shows and the shops and you will be able to find
excellent buys on vaseline crackle glass.
Vaseline glass came in all shapes, sizes, different types of wares:
Door knobs, finials, cruets, plates, etc. We have in our collection a
punch bowl set, plates, glasses, cruets. The hand-held black light cost
about $25, and they can be purchased from the antique trade magazines.

You will be amazed when you take a piece into a room, shut the lights
off, put on the black light and see how the pieces glow.

INFORMATION about Pirelli Glass!
A new book on Pirelli Glass. This is the second part of the London Lampworkers Trilogy covering Pirelli Glass.

And if you didn't read the first part of this Trilogy, you can take a look here:

INFORMATION about New Zealand Glass !
Including many original catalog pictures and dozens of photographs.
NOW available - this is the new second edition of this book and it covers the fascinating history of glass in New Zealand, the story of Crown Crystal Glass, NZ bottles and an overview of contemporary New Zealand glass artists.
Available as a paperback or as a Kindle book.

If you have any questions about glass that you think we can help with, please ask at the Glass Club Message Board.
And special thanks to all of you who share your knowledge by answering questions on the Message Board.

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